The Weary Lover
by Piccolo is green
Summary: One-shot. Staying over at the Sons' place during summer, Videl finds herself in need of a little peace and time alone. Gohan/Videl, for SweetestIrony's monthly competition.


**Disclaimer: I don't Own Dragonball Z.**

**The Weary Lover**

"Hey, I'm not waking you, am I?" came the whispering voice of Son Gohan from beyond the bedroom door. Currently cracked open slightly, it admitted both the usual morning sounds of the Son household and smells of breakfast cooking into the small, stuffy room.

"Hmm? Ugh, no," Videl replied, her voice thick with sleep. She scrubbed a hand quickly over her eyes, hoping Gohan's keen sense of smell didn't reach over to where she was laying- she was pretty sure she had morning breath. "I woke up about ten minutes ago," she grinned at him, "Morning."

"Morning," Gohan replied, his own grin widening as he stepped through the door. A quick scan over the shoulder showed that neither parents of his were in sight, nor Goten- who had been recruited as a spy for his mother as of late- and Gohan shut the door behind him with a sigh. His father did nothing more than give him a knowing smile, a pat on the back, and a random comment about the birds _breeding again_, but his mother was a different story. If Son Chi Chi caught them in a bedroom alone, they'd both receive looks of serious disagreement, and later he'd end up hearing another lecture about the virtues of marriage, and the embarrassment of unexpected children.

"Hey, I know you probably wanted to hang out again today, but Piccolo just arrived," Gohan explained, taking a seat on the bed as he did so, "and he doesn't come around often. He wants to train, so… I mean, you could come too!" he added, misinterpreting the changing expressions on her face, "It's just… I mean… it'll be intense training, and you know, you're not that strong… I mean, you're strong of course! It's just…"

At this point he decided it was best to just trail off, and so sat, blushing, under the clear blue stare of his girlfriend, his hand moving up to scratch at his head in that unconscious nervous habit that all Sons displayed.

Videl suppressed the urge to laugh, but instead settled for encouraging him out the door. "I don't mind," she replied quietly. "Go and train with Piccolo for the day, I'll find something to do."

"Re… really?"

"Yeah! Go ahead Gohan! You know you don't train enough with your studies! Go on!" She gave him a little nudge for emphasis, making sure to smile approvingly at him. She was met with an answering grin, before quickly being enveloped in the strong grip of Gohan's arms, the scent of his skin making her melt against his chest in ecstasy.

"Thanks," he whispered in her hair, lips brushing softly against her ear. "I promise, tomorrow we'll do something great to make up for it."

"No problem," she replied, kissing his neck lightly. "Go and have a good time with Piccolo, I'll see you at dinner."

***

Videl sighed, leaning back against the couch in peaceful bliss. She finally had some time to herself.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Gohan's company- after dating him for almost three years, he was her closest companion, and the person she looked forward to seeing every day. But sometimes any company was too much for a girl who knew the value of solitude.

Company had definitely become too much to handle over the last few weeks. Her father, _World Champion_, had been gone on a worldwide tour for the last four weeks. He wasn't due back until the summer break ended, leaving Videl alone to her own devices.

Apparently Hurcule hadn't like the idea of leaving Videl alone in his mansion, when _that boy_, namely Son Gohan, could fly over and visit Videl at any moment. Using the strange logic that he possessed, Hurcule had decided that the best chance to keep Videl and Gohan out of trouble was to force Videl to stay at the Sons all summer.

For the most part, this unorthodox plan had worked. Under the strict eye of Chi Chi, the young couple had been unable to reach anything near the point of copulation within the house. And Son Goku had the uncanny ability to pop up whenever they took long walks in the nearby forest, often when things were just starting to get heated.

Videl blushed, groaning as she remembered the latest incident. Goku had arrived via instant transmission to find them in a rather embarrassing position. Gohan had later explained that Goku was probably monitoring their rising power levels, something, which he matter-of-factly explained, raised significantly during the throes of passion.

Opening up to the third chapter in her book, Videl sighed, leaning back in comfort. Yes, peace was wonderful after four weeks of constant attention from all of the Sons.

_George's mouth moved lower, planting kisses all down her stomach. His fingers slipped between her legs, groping blindly for…_

Videl jumped in fright as the vacuum started up beside her, her cheeks blazing furiously as she looked up at Chi Chi with eyes widened by shock.

"I've just got to vacuum!" the Son matriarch yelled over the noise of the cleaner. "Sorry! Maybe you should go somewhere else!"

"I think I will!" Videl replied, already hastily making her exit.

She hoped Chi Chi hadn't seen what she was reading.

***

Dangling her feet over the edge of the lake, Videl opened her book again, relishing the feeling of cool water lapping at her feet as her eyes skimmed over the words, finding her placed again. _That's right, the good part_, she remembered, her cheeks growing pink from more than just the summer heat.

Engrossed in her story, she didn't hear the sound of approaching footsteps, nor the happy greeting from Son Goku. Recognising the look of a woman who needed a break- his wife got like that, sometimes- Goku merely shrugged, choosing to leave the girl alone and get on with his fishing. Of course, he forgot one thing.

Alien men with a large amount of muscle mass weighed a lot. A heavy mass, hitting the water from a considerable height (Son Goku liked to jump high off the bank) always caused a great splash.

Videl screamed as the water hit her, soaking her clothes, and the pages of her book. Before her father-in-law could resurface, she was already storming away from the lake, wishing that for once, she could have a moment's peace.

***

After being drenched by the lake, Videl had been glad for the burning summer sun. Within minutes her clothes had been close to dry, the pages of the book slowly changing from sodden translucent sheets into warped, brittle pages that left the book looking twice as fat as it had when she bought it. At least the words hadn't run, though.

Now she found the sun too hot to handle. The afternoon heat brought drops of sweat quickly to the surface of her skin, and the lack of wind gave no opportunity for salvation. Eyeing the lush forest wistfully, Videl took to the air, scanning quickly beneath the canopy of leaves for hope of a sheltered spot. A smile lit her face a she found one- a thick branch which jutted out under an umbrella of leaves made the perfect seat in the shade. Settling herself in, she opened her book, looking forward to reading about the adventures of George and Mandy. They were just about to go skinny dipping together.

"Whatcha doin?"

Videl shrieked, jumping with such a fright that she fell out of the tree, landing painfully on her behind. Groaning, she glared ruefully at Goten's innocent face, which stared back at her from within the tree.

"Why'd ya do that?" the little boy asked, his head cocking to the side in confusion. "Don'tcha know that falling on your butt hurts?"

"I know it does, Goten," she seethed between gritted teeth. "I didn't do it on purpose."

"Ooohhhhh," he replied. "What's this, sister? Is it a book for school? How come the man on the front isn't wearing a shirt? Why is the lady lying on top of him? Are they wrestling?"

"No, Goten," Videl replied, her voice sterner than necessary. "No it's not for school. It's for relaxing, because sister needs to relax, because sister wants to be left alone!"

"Oh," Goten murmured, head bowed in understanding. "Here's your book, sissy." Without a backwards glance he took off, the wind erupting around his small body in waves.

"Goten!" Videl called in regret, but it was too late. The boy was already high in the air, the streak of his ki drifting out behind him.

***

The wind created from the buzzing fan- its head rotating slowly around to blast each corner of the room in cold air- ruffled the pages of Videl's book, but after the day's events, she couldn't care less. Evidently, the spare bedroom in which she had been staying really was the best place to read; with the door closed, she hadn't been bothered in the past hour.

As is often the case, this thought proved to be invitation for the introduction of Murphy's Law. The door opened with a menacing creak, and Videl quickly hid her book under the pillow. She didn't think Chi Chi would approve of the reading material.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Gohan asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Videl lay back against the pillow, hoping that by stretching and yawning, she could disguise the lie in her voice.

"No," she replied, blinking up at him. In nothing but his boxers, with dripping hair from his recent shower, he looked ten times better than any character in a novel ever did. For once she was genuinely glad of the interruption from her reading.

"You are!" he exclaimed in mock outrage, stretching himself over her as he lay down on the bed. He kissed her forcibly, lowering his body weight upon her slowly, his hands already skimming the outlines of her curves. "What is it?" he murmured, his voice husky in her ear.

"Nothing," she replied, squirming underneath him. Unable to get away, she opted for plan B, which was distraction. Grasping his hair in her hands, she tugged his head towards hers, her lips crushing hard against his.

The distraction worked, or so she thought. Grinning between kisses, she ran her hands over his muscled back, loving the way he moaned in her mouth, relishing in the feel of great strength, held in check for her sake.

"What... is this?" Gohan grinned, panting as his hand snaked underneath the pillow, pulling out the book.

"No!" she cried, wrestling with him in earnest. "Give it back! Gohan! It's not fair!"

"What the hell..." Gohan mumbled, ignoring Videl's protests and propping himself up on an elbow. "_The Weary Lover_?" What kind of book is this? They're practically having sex on the cover!"

"Shhhh!!!!" she hissed, scratching at his arm. "Give it to me! It's nothing!"

Gohan shook his head, rolling his large bulk over on the small, single bed, until he faced the wall, his back to Videl. Quickly he opened to a random page, his eyes scanning through the words quickly.

"_What is this?!_" he asked again, managing to sound just as scandalised as Chi Chi had the night she had found them both shirtless in the tub outside.

"It's a romance novel!" Vide hissed, snatching the book back with fury. "Haven't you eve heard of them?!" she asked accusingly, her cheeks glowing red in the afternoon light.

"No... No I haven't," Gohan replied tentatively, his own cheeks growing a dusky pink. "I didn't realise thy actually wrote stuff like... that. Give it here... I... I wanna see what else this book contains."

"No!"

"Yes! Why not? Can't I read what you're reading? You can read about... about sex and clitorises and engorged penises, but I'm not allowed?"

"No! Yes! I mean, I don't know!" She buried her head in the pillow, giving up her claim over the book reluctantly. "Lots of girls read them," she mumbled into the fabric underneath her, anguish evident in her voice. "This is so embarrassing."

Silence, apart from the rustling of turning pages, signified that Gohan had chosen to find out what else the book contained. Lying in wait, Videl hunched her shoulders, turning angrily until she faced away from him.

"Videl?"

"Yes?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. The mattress shifted underneath her, a strong arm stretching under her shoulder, the other reaching over, fingers splayed to hold the pages open in the book. A hard lump pressed against her backside and she nestled back against it unconsciously, the anger and shame dripping out of her slowly as she melted against him.

"I was wondering, do you think that's possible?"

"What?" she asked, half turning to look at him.

"That," he replied, nodding towards the book. His hand held open a page she was already familiar with, and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks once again.

"Uh... I suppose so," she whispered. "Yeah... yeah I think something like that is physically possible. You'd have to be fit, to try a move like that."

"We're fit," he whispered back, burying his own face in her hair to hide his cheeks. "Do you think... you think that maybe, someday... we could, ah...?"

"Oh! Yeah... yeah," she replied, blushing again. "Sure."

"Hmmm. Maybe... Maybe you could show me the other bits in this book," Gohan suggested, his voice a trifle higher than usual. "I mean... if there's something you think you wanna have a go at... I... well I'm keen."

"I know you are," she giggled, rolling over to nuzzle into his chest. "I can tell, you know."

"I know," he laughed, moving his hips in demonstration. "Sorry... for interrupting your reading. I didn't mean to embarrass you." His hand fluttered lightly through her short hair, playing with individual strands, his dark eyes, soft and warm, travelling over her face. She sighed again, relaxing. This was Gohan. There was no need to be embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, smiling up at Gohan softly. "I don't mind being interrupted by you."

Gohan smiled back, eyes glinting mischievously. "So how 'bout it, Mandy?" he asked, head already leaning towards hers, as a hand tightened on he backside.

"Sure, George."

**A/N:** Just in case you didn't catch, Mandy and George were the names of the characters in the book she was reading. The theme for Sweetest Irony was 'summer reading'.


End file.
